Dick Advocaat and Curaçao impressively secured a point against Canada in the Gold Cup on Saturday night. For a long time, it seemed Curaçao was heading for a defeat, but in injury time, former PSV player Jeremy Antonisse scored the equalizer: 1-1.
Curaçao, which ranks sixty places lower on the FIFA world ranking than Canada (90th to 30th), fell behind within ten minutes. A volley from Nathan Saliba was too powerful for goalkeeper Eloy Room.
In the remainder of the match, both teams were evenly matched, although Curaçao had the better chances. The biggest chance came twenty minutes before the end when Jürgen Locadia thought he had equalized, but after intervention from VAR, his goal was disallowed for offside.
Roshon van Eijma also thought he would grab a leading role. Five minutes before the end, he headed in the 1-1, but his goal was also disallowed for offside. As a result, a defeat seemed inevitable for Curaçao.
But substitute Antonisse thought differently. The attacker was sent deep in the fourth minute of injury time. Antonisse calmly slid the ball past Canadian goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and secured a point for Curaçao.
Curaçao had drawn goalless against El Salvador in their first match at the Gold Cup. Thanks to the point against Canada, Curaçao has qualification for the quarter-finals in its own hands. A victory over Honduras on Wednesday night will be enough.